at are their favourite
recreations? Do they sing in the choir? if so, is he tenor or
baritone; his wife ditto?

(26) Are they on good terms with each other, and _no domestic
bickering_?

(27) What wages did you pay him?

(28) Why (on earth) did you part with him?

An immediate answer will greatly oblige. I enclose an addressed
envelope.

I am, Your obedient Servant,

JULIUS PITHERBY.

LETTER II.

_Myself to Julius Pitherby, Esq.,

Manor Orange, Pimhaven._

DEAR SIR,--I thank you for your letter. The answers to questions (1),
(2), (25), (27) and (28) are in the affirmative. With regard to the
others you have, no doubt unwittingly, put me in rather a dilemma. You
see, Anderson left my service when he was sixteen and I have not heard
of him since, though it is true that I did see his father (who belongs
to this neighbourhood) on the roof of the church one day last month.
I might make shots at them, of course, but I dare say it is better to
leave it. I am interested to learn that Henry is married.

I am, Yours faithfully, &c.

LETTER III.

_Myself to Henry Anderson,
c/o Ezekiel Anderson, Slater,
Crashie, Howe._

MY DEAR HENRY,--I do not think if I were you I should accept Mr.
Julius Pitherby's offer of a job. Your marriage may, of course, have
been--I hope it was--the occasion of your turning over a new leaf.
Still, I doubt if you are quite the paragon he is looking for, and I
am afraid that you may find him a little inquisitive.

I am, Yours faithfully, &c.

* * * * *

ONCE UPON A TIME.

THE POWER OF THE PRESS.

Once upon a time there was a quiet respectable little
spell-of-hot-weather, with no idea of being a nuisance or doing
more than warm people up a bit, and make the summer really feel like
summer, and add attraction to seaside resorts. Directly it reached our
shores every one began to be happy; and they would have gone on being
so but for the sub-editors, who cannot leave well alone but must be
for ever finding adjectives for it and teasing it with attentions.
Just then they were particularly free to turn their attentions to the
kindly visitor, because there was no good murder at the moment, and no
divorce case, and no spicy society scandal, and therefore their pages
were in need of filling. And seeing the little spell-of-hot-weather
they gave way to their passion for labelling everything with crisp
terseness--or terse crispness (I forget which)--